July Currently & Goals & a Meet Up!

Oh, July! You seemed so far away a month ago. How could you possibly be almost here already?! Can't we add another month in between June and July? I really, REALLY want to hold on to June as long as possible. I'm really not ready to return to work in a few weeks...

Currently July

I'm linking up with Farley at Oh Boy! 4th Grade for the July Currently.

Listening: My little girl is almost 2, and she LOVES books. She also loves Pete the Cat. I took her to my favorite children's book store, Little Shop of Stories, to get the new Pete the Cat book the day it came out. Given that she knows and loves the song "Wheels on the Bus," it's a great book for her to "read" on her own.

Loving: Planbook.com. I signed up for the one-month trial to tinker around with it, and it's fantastic. I'll definitely be using it next year.

Thinking: that I'm much more prepared to teach the Common Core this year -- especially with math. I'm excited about implementing all of the things that I worked on this summer to get ready for math, and I'm optimistic about my year ahead.

Wanting: a longer summer break. There are so many things that I still want to do before going back to school, and I don't think I'm going to be able to get them all done.

Needing: a maid. I can't keep up with my husband, toddler, and two dogs. Once I go back to work, it may be time to hire someone to come in each week.

Tips, Tricks & Hints: One thing that helps me with time management is to try to group all of my like-projects together and work on them at once. For example, I have one day a week at school that I do all of my copying (or at least I did before going paperless!). I also spend one day working on plans for each subject (e.g., a day for math planning, a day for science, etc.) and a day for working on blog posts, etc for the week. This helps me use my time more efficiently and stay relatively organized.

July Goals

I'm also linking up with Jess at I {Heart} Recess for the first time for the monthly goals post.

Personal: I want to start exercising at least 3 times a week (baby steps). I return to work in a couple weeks (!), and I know with all that I'll be juggling this year between work and my doctorate that I will need to do better with exercise for balance and stress management.

Family: I want to squeeze in a couple more "date days" before going back to school. My daughter is in school year round, so on "date days," my husband leaves his office before lunch, and then we go out to lunch and catch a movie before picking her up. It saves us babysitting costs, and it's a fun way to spend our afternoon.

Health: A few years ago when I lost a lot of weight, the biggest change I made was that I consistently drank 64 oz of water every day. Now that I've gained back the weight (and then some), I need to start drinking at least that much water every day.

School: I report to our staff retreat on July 17th, and then pre-planning officially starts on July 25th. I need to figure out how I'm going to decorate my room before then and map out some plans for the first few weeks before then.

Blog/TpT: I'm hoping to wrap up my Paperless Challenge series in the next few weeks, and I have several new TpT products in the works. This summer has just gone by too quickly for me to finish it all!

Outside the Box: I want to find some easy and tasty breakfast and lunch recipes that I can use throughout the year. I do a fairly good job cooking healthy dinners, but I am not consistent the rest of the day. I often forget to eat breakfast, and then I don't make the best choices for lunch either. The more I plan ahead, the better prepared I'll be. And this justifies spending more time on Pinterest. Win-win!

Southeastern Bloggers Meet Up!

Have you heard about the Southeastern-area blogger meet up? It's about time that those of us in Georgia and the surrounding areas get together, and I'm super thankful that Stacia, Amanda, and Jivey from Collaboration Cuties and Ideas by Jivey have  organized something for us. If you are close to Atlanta, I hope you'll join us for the meet up on July 20th. It promises to be lots of fun.

Click on any of the images below to connect with Jivey's blog where you can RSVP.

I hope to meet lots of other fabulous teacher bloggers there! Click the button below to RSVP.

New Year's Resolutions!

Happy 2013 Everyone!

I love New Year's Day. Much like the first day of school, there's something exciting about the promise of a fresh start and a clean slate. I typically tackle some New Year's Resolutions every year, and some years are more productive than others. I've found that when I'm most successful with my resolutions, it's because they're ones that I'm really motivated to achieve. In addition, the resolutions are specific, realistic, and measurable so I can track my progress along the way. I'm using that premise to guide my resolutions this year, and I have to say, I'm excited to share them.

My resolutions fall into three major categories: blogging, teaching, and personal/health.

Blogging Resolutions

 

1. I will average 5 original blog posts per week. I've actually been thinking about this one for a while. I've purchased a planner just for blogging, and I've been mapping out ideas for blog posts. I've wanted to do more writing, and I feel like I've finally got enough figured out and settled down in the rest of my life that I can dedicate myself to this goal.

2. I will build up to 500 followers or more on this blog.  I'm reviewing the videos and resources over at Teaching Blog Traffic School, and I'm hoping that (along with more frequent posts) will help me develop strategies to reach more teachers. (Are you already following my blog? If not, could you help me out?)

Teaching Resolutions

 

1. I will enter at least one grade per subject in the online gradebook each week. I'm really bad about using our district's online grade book, and I know I'm not alone in that category. The system is not terribly user-friendly, and I usually put off all of my interactions with it until the end of the term when I'm scrambling to finish report cards. I've blogged about my grading issues in the past, and while I've gotten better about it, I still have some serious room for improvement.

2. I will document my work every day. I've realized that I need to work smarter, especially since I'm not likely to change grade levels or curriculum standards any time soon. I'm inconsistent about writing detailed lesson plans in advance, but I could do more to write down what we accomplish each day, what resources we use, what works, what doesn't, etc. so I have something more to build off of next year. I can use quick notes and photographs to help with that, and that can help me get more organized and help with my blogging goals as well.

Personal/Health Resolutions

 

1. I will lose 50 pounds this year. This is a big one, but I think losing about a pound a week is reasonable. I had been doing really well with weight loss a couple of years ago, but then I started a new job and had a beautiful baby girl, and all of my progress was lost (and then some). I'm pretty tired of my clothes not fitting right, and I know I'd feel a lot better if I was working out consistently and eating better.

2. I will eliminate most processed foods from my diet, especially soda. My daughter's food allergies forced us to rethink a lot of the food we were eating last year, and I found that when I was actually cooking meals without using processed foods, the meals were tastier and healthier. In addition, when I was really losing weight, I was drinking lots of water instead of soda. I suspect that good changes in this category will help me with the weight loss resolution as well.

I'm linking up with Jen at The Teachers' Cauldron for these resolutions. If you haven't already joined in on her linky party, click the image below and make your way over! There are TONS of teachers linking up, and it's a great way to find some new blogs! (That's what I'll be doing!)

Now that I've shared my New Year's Resolutions, I'd love to hear about yours! What are your goals for 2013? Let's cheer each other on to make this year the most successful one for teachers yet!